The parity principle does not generate a legitimate sense of grievance where the co-offender was lower in the supply chain, trafficked for a shorter period, did not commit additional offences, and received a quantified cooperation discount. Voluntary desistance from drug trafficking, as recognised in R v Le, does not operate as a significant mitigating factor in large-scale wholesale trafficking, particularly where the point was not raised at first instance and the applicant engaged in further criminal conduct after arrest.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 3 later cases that cite this judgment.